newbie
Americannoun
-
newbies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of newbie
An Americanism first recorded in 1965–70; perhaps newb(orn) + -ie
Explanation
Newbie is a nickname for someone who is new to something. The new guy on a team or job is a newbie. Someone who just started using the internet is a newbie. Newbies are just starting out. This word — which has new right in it — is a slangy term for someone just starting an activity. A person on their first day at a job is a newbie. A first-time soccer player is a newbie. Freshmen are newbies. The opposite of a newbie is a veteran. Because newbies are inexperienced, they have a lot to learn. Newbies are also called rookies.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Being a Cane’s newbie, I felt dubious about this pitch.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
I’m no Nobu regular and rarely cook, so I was the class newbie by a long shot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
It's better Clarke handles this rather than throwing in a newbie to start from scratch.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
The site gives newbie agents training resources and marketing tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
A newbie from the Lambert Trader showed up around four o’clock that morning, followed by more experienced reporters an hour later.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
Spohn cites “Game of Thrones,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Star Wars” and even “The Parent Trap” as some of the more popular cultural inspirations for newbies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
E-motos aren’t street-legal, but they are drawing newbies to an industry thirsty for young riders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Best For: VPN newbies who want the gentlest introduction possible, or anyone who needs quick privacy protection for specific tasks.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2026
For Mukherjea, the lesson is to buy blue chip Indian names that domestic newbies find boring and global investors have sidelined to chase AI stocks elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
He points out the “quad” and the “field house” and refers to the “Ivies” and the “public Ivies,” where all these newbies will ultimately matriculate.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
